Friday is the birth date of one of America's most recognized celebrities. Had he lived, Elvis Presley would have turned 75 years old in 2010. Here is a look back at just some of the interesting events in the life of "the King."

* Gladys Love Smith and Vernon Elvis Presley were married in June 1933. Vernon hoed cotton, corn and peas, sorted lumber and drove a truck. Gladys worked as a sewing machine operator for Tupelo Garment Company.

* When Gladys became pregnant, she was forced to quit work. A dairy farmer named Orville Bean loaned Vernon enough money to build a shotgun house in time for the birth of Elvis.

* At 4:35 a.m. on Jan. 8, 1935, Jesse Garon (stillborn) and Elvis Aron were born in a two room house in Tupelo, Miss.

* When Elvis was 3, Vernon and two other men changed the amount on a check from Vernon's boss from $3 to $8 and cashed it at a local bank. Vernon was sentenced to three years in the state penitentiary. He was released after eight months, but by then the note on the house had been called in and Gladys and Elvis were living with her in-laws.

* When Elvis turned 5, his mother walked him to school every day, a practice she maintained until he entered high school.

* At age 10, Elvis won a talent contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. His prize was $5 and a free ticket to all the rides.

* In 1946, Elvis asked his parents for a bicycle. Gladys was afraid he would fall off a bike and hurt himself and persuaded him to get a guitar instead. It came from the Tupelo Hardware Store at a cost of $12.95.

* One night in 1948, almost penniless, Vernon packed his family and their belongings into a 1939 Plymouth and moved to Memphis. The family lived in a shabby one-room apartment. Gladys went to work in a cafeteria, and Vernon drove a truck for a while before taking a job with the United Paint Company. Vernon held that job for five years -- it paid 83 cents an hour.

* In 1953, Elvis enrolled at Humes High School. After his first year, the family moved up in the world to a two-bedroom public housing apartment.

* Elvis' first job was as an usher at the Loew's State Theater. Some of his earnings went to support the household. The remaining few dollars he spent on "slick duds" for himself.

* In his senior year of high school, Elvis got his first car. It was a 1942 Lincoln Zephyr.

* In the summer of 1953, Elvis dropped into the Memphis Recording Service (Sun Studios) and recorded "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin." It cost him $4.

* In July 1954, a breakthrough recording of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right" backed by "Blue Moon of Kentucky" became the first of five singles Elvis would release on the Sun label.

* Elvis appeared at the Overton Park in Memphis July 30, 1954 with headliner Slim Whitman. The newspaper ads for the show misspelled his name as "Ellis." Elvis was so nervous he moved constantly during his performance, which caused the girls to scream with excitement. He asked later what had the girls so excited and was told it was his leg shaking and moving as he sang.

* By November 1955, Elvis had signed a contract with RCA for an unprecedented $40,000.

* In March 1956, Elvis released his first album. It was simply titled "Elvis Presley" and went on to become his first gold album.

* One month after releasing his first album, Elvis signed a seven-year movie contract with Hal Wallis and Paramount Pictures.

* In July 1956, the previously reluctant Ed Sullivan agreed to a three-appearance deal with Elvis for $50,000.

* Graceland was purchased in March 1957. A draft notice was delivered to Elvis in December of that same year.

* Elvis was inducted into the U.S. Army in March 1958 and sent to Fort Hood for six months. While at the Texas base, Gladys becomes very ill. Elvis was able to visit with his mother before her death on Aug. 14. She was only 46 years old.

* Elvis met Priscilla Beaulieu while stationed in Germany. Upon his discharge in March 1960 and return to the limelight, Elvis downplayed his relationship with Priscilla.

* ABC aired Frank Sinatra's "Welcome Home Elvis" edition of his variety show a few months after his return to the States. Elvis was paid a staggering amount of money for the time -- $125,000.

* In March of 1961, Elvis performed at the Bloch Arena at Pearl Harbor. His performance and support raised money and awareness that enabled the USS Arizona Memorial to be completed the following year. This was the last time Elvis made a live, non-movie appearance until his 1968 television special.

* Priscilla visited Elvis for Christmas 1962. By early 1963, she had moved to Memphis where she finished her senior year of high school.

* In early 1964, Elvis purchased the Potamac, former presidential yacht of Franklin D. Roosevelt for $55,000.

* Elvis called Aug.27, 1965 a big day in his life. The Beatles visited with him for several hours in his California home and held an informal jam session.

* In December of 1966, Elvis Presley proposed to Priscilla Beaulieu.

* Just after 9:30 a.m. on May 1, 1967, Elvis and Priscilla were married in a small, private ceremony at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. At the end of the month, the couple had a second wedding at Graceland to include the rest of their friends and family.

* On Feb. 1, 1968, nine months to the day after their wedding, Priscilla gave birth to Lisa Marie Presley.

* In the spring of 1969, Elvis filmed "Change of Habit," his last acting role in a motion picture. In September, RCA released "Suspicious Minds." It became Elvis' first No. 1 single since 1962.

* Elvis went on tour in September 1970, his first tour since 1957.

* In late 1971, Priscilla moved out and took Lisa Marie with her.

* In June 1972, Elvis sold out (in advance) four shows at Madison Square Garden. Among the 80,00 attendees were John Lennon, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, David Bowie and Art Garfunkel. Surprisingly, that was the first live concert Elvis had ever done in New York City.

* After several hospitalizations and canceled shows for drug-related problems, Elvis held his last concert in Indianapolis on June 26, 1977.

* Elvis died at his home at Graceland on August 16, 1977 at age 42. While there were drugs in his system, it was his heart that failed him.

* On June 26, 1979, Vernon Presley died. Elvis, his mother, father and paternal grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley, are all buried at Graceland's Meditation Garden. There are two remaining, unoccupied plots.